Disclosure
by Katsuko1978
Summary: It's always been a dangerous game, right from the start. Response to TF Rare Pairing's December Challenge. G1 AU. Rating changed for the next-to-last chapter. Complete in 6 chapters plus epilogue.
1. Hindsight

**Disclaimer:** Transformers©Hasbro/Takara  
**Warning:** AU, more warnings to come as the story progresses**  
Notes:** written for TF Rare Pairing's December 2010 **Spotlight: Minibots** challenge. The prompt is "secrets and lies."

* * *

In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have ignored his instincts that morning.

Granted, he always felt worried right before heading into battle, especially on those days when he knew his bonded would be sending him encoded files that he would then re-encode and covertly pass onto Ops; it was just part of life for the partner of a deep cover agent. And shortly before dawn he'd gotten a pulse along their bond which indicated that the other had new intel to deliver, so the nervousness was understandable.

No, what was bothering him was the heavy sensation of dread lingering in the very back of his cortex. As if something bad was going to happen that would blow the cover they'd _both_ had for nearly the entire war.

Now, though, there was no point in dwelling on it. He shoved the sensation down until it was buried and focused on not only firing on the Decepticons attempting to steal even more energy from the hydroelectric plant but also keeping track of his bondmate's current location. A faint pulse of amused annoyance across the bond drew his gaze skyward briefly, and he had to bite back a snort of his own. Jet Judo probably annoyed the ever-living pit out of most seekers, but his bonded took it in stride... even if he was currently shrieking like a banshee in order to _not_ break character.

He turned his optics back to the battle, firing a few rounds and grinning as the Stunticons scattered. He knew that his mate worried over those mechs created only for war, since he'd lived with the stigma of being a war-build even before things took a turn for the worse, but Cliffjumper couldn't help but feel a bit of amusement in reminding the 'younglings' that there was another option besides the faction they'd been born to serve. The only response from his bonded was a brief burst of _amusement/distress _before the jet and his 'unwanted' passenger passed directly overhead.

The databurst didn't surprise him; there were few times in combat situations where he was close enough to his bondmate that they could initiate the transfer-receive protocols, so Cliffjumper tended to keep his retrieval protocols active. The instant that the file transfer was complete – only a few astroseconds, literally the amount of time his partner was overhead – he closed the protocols and began the encoding process, turning the sum of his attention to the battle at hand while sending a pulse of _success/take care_ to his bonded.

He wasn't entirely sure what happened next. All he knew was that he heard Megatron's damn fusion cannon come online, and when he turned his focus from the retreating Cassettes the mech was firing on his SIC. Starscream only had time to shriek as the blast hit him, pain flaring to life over the bond and overpowering anything else. It was enough to nearly knock Cliffjumper over, an identical howl slipping from his vocalizer as the jet dropped like a stone. The minibot reacted instinctively, raising his rifle and firing off one shot at the source of his/his bonded's pain.

The world went black around him just as the blast connected.

**tbc...**


	2. Matrix Memory

**Notes:** This part starts off with a flashback-of-sorts. It'll be a bit more clear further on, promise!

* * *

_Sentinel Prime raised a brow ridge as he looked up at the two mechs who had entered his office. The smaller of the pair, a member of his personal guard, had requested a private meeting with him a cycle ago, but he hadn't been expecting the mech's bondmate to join them. It wasn't terribly surprising though; since the seeker had returned from an exploration mission turned sour, the Council of Elders was pit-bent on ensuring that the mech's comfort was top priority and as a result had transferred their brightest star – and yes, the pun amused – to a lab closer to his bonded's outpost._

_"Cliffjumper, Starscream," the Prime said with a nod, pausing for a moment as the couple returned his greeting. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"_

_Starscream spoke first: "The rebellion is starting to recruit war-builds."_

_The news was troubling, and Sentinel was certain it showed on his face. "I would trust that you've been approached, then?" he asked, venting a sigh at the seeker's nod._

_"I managed to keep my opinion to myself and say nothing either in support or rejection," Starscream added. "But I doubt they'll leave me alone for very long. The mech who spoke to me seemed to be under the impression that the science council is literally astroseconds away from dismissing me."_

_"If they manage to gain the support of even one unit of war-builds, it'll be disastrous," Sentinel remarked, leaning back in his chair and steepling his fingers. "I'll speak with Prowl and have him increase the security patrols in Kaon and Polyhex, although I'm not sure how effective that may be."_

_"There may be a way we can find out more, sir," Cliffjumper said, glancing at his bondmate and continuing only after the seeker nodded in reassurance. "If the guard can slip someone within the rebellion, we'll have access to everything they do. We may not know their plans too far in advance, but we could have time to clear an area before any attacks."_

_It took a click for the minibot's words to make sense, and when it did the Prime fixed his optics on the bonded pair firmly. "You're suggesting that we separate you two, despite the fact that you both function on a much higher level when in close proximity to one another, and use your bond as a means of infiltration. Not only is it dangerous for __**both**__ of you, I doubt a bond can be utilized in such a way."_

_"Actual verbal communication? No," Starscream confirmed, "but we've used it to coordinate meetings and check up on one another even during the time I was off-planet. It's probably..." The seeker trailed off, glancing at his bondmate._

_The minibot gave a faint smile to the larger mech and concluded the thought: "Using the bond to check on one another is the only reason Star managed to get back to Cybertron in relatively one piece. I wouldn't let him __**not**__ come back to me."_

_Sentinel remained silent, watching as the pair seemed to communicate non-verbally. It was only slight, but the connection between them was obvious to anyone who bothered to look. For a moment he was envious; the only mech he might consider bonding with was one who was too concerned over propriety to do so. There was the potential that it might not even be possible, given the Matrix's proximity to his own spark, but Sentinel still wished for a selfish moment that Prowl could someday be talked into bonding._

_"I still have my doubts," he said once the couple appeared to tune back in to the world around them. "However, if you're positive that this could work, there's no reason not to proceed. For security purposes, I won't be informing anyone of your identities. You will both need to keep as low a profile as possible, so information should only be given directly to me in person or double-encoded through a proxy to Operations."_

_"Sir, what if something happens to you?" Starscream asked quietly, the red optics that identified war-builds bright with worry._

_The Prime was silent for a moment before nodding to himself. "I'll commit the information and this memory to the Matrix of Leadership," he replied. "In the event that I go offline before this... situation is resolved, the next Prime will know the importance of keeping this off-record." He didn't add that whoever his successor was would also know the importance of retrieving the seeker if his cover was ever compromised._

Optimus Prime sighed to himself and slipped out of the repair bay. He'd spent a very long time arguing with Prowl over the fact that _yes_, Ratchet was going to repair both mechs currently under his care, and _no_, neither one was going to be sent to the brig afterward. Ratchet had not been present for that 'meeting,' given that he'd already started working on Starscream once it became apparent that Cliffjumper's collapse was directly related to the seeker's injuries.

Currently, the prognosis wasn't very good; Megatron had been shooting to kill this time, and the best damned covert agent the Autobot army had ever had – a mech in place long before there even _was_ an official Autobot army – was still closer to deactivation than fully functional.

Optimus was worried. The Matrix-memory usually didn't haunt him so much, as he prided himself on being observant to a fault. There had been literally _no_ indication that Starscream's cover had been compromised; the first sign at all was the Decepticon commander opening fire on the seeker. Granted, Megatron didn't walk away unscathed, and the Prime found himself wishing that Cliffjumper's instinctive shot had been just a few centimeters further to the left.

Prime fought the urge to vent another sigh and stood up a bit straighter. He was going to need to speak with his officers over the status of his deep cover agent and said agent's bondmate sooner rather than later, and the fact that Megatron would be out of commission for a while buoyed him only slightly. It was probably too much to hope that Starscream had managed to sew actual seeds of dissention amongst the Decepticons during his tenure with them or to counter the effects of the Robo-Smasher upon the Constructicons; if he had, though, it could buy the time necessary to decide how to proceed in future engagements.

**tbc**


	3. Recall and Empathy

**Warnings:** AU and implied death of a canon character in this part.

* * *

He could have simply walked into the repair bay to find out how the ops agent was doing, but Prowl was still trying to deny the facts as given to them by Optimus only a short while ago. No one was particularly thrilled to learn that Starscream was one of them – and always had been – but they were willing to accept it and smooth things over amongst the troops. The SIC, however, didn't _want_ to accept it.

Even if it did, in some small way, explain a few things that had bothered him since Sentinel's forcible offlining.

Rather than enter the repair bay itself, Prowl slipped into the observation room off to the side and watched the proceedings that way; to those inside the repair bay the wall was simply a smooth reflective surface, but from the other side it was transparent. This was intended to allow mechs and femmes to observe and learn without intruding and was generally utilized when neither Ratchet nor Hoist was giving the trainees hands-on lessons. For now, Prowl was using it to observe the two mechs currently in the medics' care.

It appeared that Starscream's condition was still somewhat tenuous, given that Hoist had joined Ratchet in working on the seeker. Prowl's vantage point didn't allow for him to see much of what the medics were doing, but he did note that several charred sections of plating had been discarded and that Swoop was going through the storage closet in search of replacements.

To be brutally honest, that was worrisome; Prowl and Optimus' argument had been three or four earth-hours ago, and Ratchet had started working around that time. Megatron's shot had come very close to cutting the jet in half, and the longer repairs took the greater the chance that Starscream might not survive surgery. The thought reminded him that there was another aspect to the situation, and the SIC's optics turned to search the room again. He probably would have missed Cliffjumper on his third sweep of the repair bay if First Aid hadn't stopped at his side for a moment.

The minibot looked, for lack of a better word, lost. Yes, he glanced over at the medic-in-training and replied to his quiet inquiries, but aside from that Cliffjumper was a million miles away. The astrosecond First Aid walked over to assist Swoop, the red mech's optics were locked onto the activity occurring at the repair cradle a short distance away. Other than the worry and pain that Prowl could clearly see from his vantage point, Cliffjumper's expression was closed off and blank.

It looked a little too much like what he saw in the mirror each morning cycle, and Prowl had to shutter his optics for a moment.

_The only warning was a surge of surprise and dismay across the bond, and then there was just __**pain**__._

_Prowl yelped, only just keeping himself from shrieking as the bond abruptly went from broadcasting pain to a sudden emptiness. He couldn't do anything to keep from dropping to his knees, grateful that he was behind a barrier and that the Decepticons couldn't take advantage of his distraction to blow him away._

_"Prowl!" a familiar voice cried, drawing him briefly from the fog as he tried to place who was speaking. The minibot dropped next to him, and recognition clicked: Cliffjumper. "What happened?"_

_"Something's wrong with Sentinel," he replied, ignoring propriety in his worry for his bonded. "I can't feel him anymore."_

_Prowl turned his focus to the frayed bond, pushing queries and worry along it and hoping, praying that his bondmate was still at the other end. He didn't miss that someone else had joined them, but he didn't care; the important thing was his bonded, the Prime, and he was still getting __**nothing**__ in reply._

_"Cliff, what's wrong?" the newcomer asked, voice somewhat familiar but only just, not someone he spoke to on a regular basis._

_"Something happened to Sentinel Prime," Cliffjumper replied, voice tight with worry. That made sense; the minibot was one of Sentinel's most loyal amongst the guardians who had become part of the fledgling Autobot army as well as the Prime's friend. Concern was only logical, and Prowl grasped hold of that concept tightly even as he continued calling over the bond._

_The other didn't respond for a moment. "I'll see what I can find out," he finally replied, his own voice sounding troubled. Prowl lifted his head slightly to try and see who was speaking but was unsuccessful; he felt heavy and drained from the silence on the other side of the bond, and all he could clearly make out were the two mechs' pedes._

_**Tetrajet?**__ he mused to himself as he placed the stranger as a seeker. __**Didn't realize we still had a few on our side.**_

_"Keep him safe," the seeker continued. "I'll be in touch soon."_

_"Stay safe," Cliffjumper admonished as the other left before turning back to Prowl. The SIC was tired of trying to process anything and finally let himself drop into stasis-mode, hoping that when he came back online the world would make sense again and Sentinel would be there._

But the world _hadn't_ made sense when he came back online; Sentinel had been taken down by Megatron – and, supposedly in his later bragging, all his top officers had been there with him. But the recall loop had reminded Prowl that Cliffjumper wasn't the only one who'd stopped to check on him that day. A seeker had been there as well, one that knew the minibot and was comfortable speaking to him in a familiar manner.

Prowl let out a quiet, harsh laugh as he leaned on the wall for a moment, optics still moving from the minibot to the activity around the repair cradle. Starscream and Cliffjumper had come so close to blowing their cover very early in the war, and the only reason he'd missed it was because of the broken bond. And now he was watching the same scenario play out all over again, only this time the mech who'd tried to keep him grounded was floundering as his own bondmate's life hang in the balance.

Prowl wasn't the sort of mech who asked Primus for much of anything, but he asked for two things now: that Starscream somehow pull through, or that Cliffjumper quickly followed him if he perished.

The last thing the universe needed was another mech only going through the motions of life when all he really wanted to do was join his bonded on the other side.

* * *

**End Note:** Yes, I am indeed implying that Sentinel managed to talk Prowl into bonding with him. Poor Prowl is the living proof that one doesn't _always_ follow hit bondmate into deactivation; he just wishes that he had. *hugs for poor Prowl*


	4. Awakening

**Note:** We're coming up on the finish line... at least for the main focus of the original prompt. There's probably only one more section to go after this and then who knows? I might continue with a spin-off. Hell, I _know_ I'll continue so I can at least clear up a few loose threads...

* * *

The worst part about getting shot, especially when he wasn't expecting it, was coming back online afterward.

He ignored the readings on his HUD (although he did note that repairs were 75% complete and that there was a sedative in his fuel lines, which explained why he wasn't in pain at the moment) and instead focused on recalling what had lead up to Megatron shooting him _this_ time. The mech had been acting odd lately, even for the half-glitched megalomaniac, so Starscream had been treading carefully... and, of course, gathering up what additional intel he thought might be relevant at a later date. He'd made a note to check in with the Constructicons just before the raid commenced to pick up one last bit of information – more of a personal nature and intended for one recipient – and double-checked the encoding on the data packet before he took the opportunity to send it to Cliffjumper.

...and less than a breem later, Megatron shot him out of the sky.

Starscream came fully online, trying to shove himself up from the repair cradle as he realized what must have happened. Unfortunately for him, both Ratchet and Hoist were still working on him and had no trouble shoving him back down.

"How the slag are you back online?" Ratchet fairly demanded even as the seeker realized it was in his best interests at the moment to cooperate with the mechs working on his repairs. "I gave you enough sedatives to knock out Grimlock for half a day!"

Starscream ignored the medic, focusing instead on the bond and pushing a faint thread of _query/concern/frustration_ along it. Not even a full astrosecond later he received a pulse of _relief/worry/love_ in response; it was followed very quickly by a verbal, "Star, relax. What's wrong? Aside from the obvious, so just shut up right now about that."

"No talking," Hoist admonished before the jet could even open his mouth. "We've still got some heavy repairs to complete, and the vibrations from your vocalizer could do some damage to areas we haven't gotten to just yet."

_::As if comm links don't exist,::_ Starscream retorted, smirking slightly as both medics startled at the sudden uplink and the pulse of _exasperation/adoration_ from his mate. _::Cliff, I need you to check the file I sent you for any tags that may have been incorporated into the original information.::_

"I think you may have jostled something when you hit the ground, nova," the minibot replied aloud with a slight frown. "Or did you forget that you encoded them before sending. Although, frag, I didn't get to finish re-encoding them before... well, before."

_::I __**did**__ encode them, and I __**do**__ recall doing so. But check anyway for me, sweetspark. Especially look for a tag that would detect who was sending it rather than the recipient.::_ Starscream waited, wincing slightly as a flare of _rage_ surged to life over the bond.

"I'll kill him," Cliffjumper snarled aloud, followed by the abrupt clang of his pedes hitting the floor.

"Cliffjumper, where the pit do you think you're going?" Ratchet demanded, not moving a centimeter from the repair cradle but shooting a hard glare at the minibot. "You haven't been cleared yet."

"I'm gonna go to the _Victory_ and finish what I started," Cliffjumper responded.

_"You still haven't been cleared."_ This time the voice came over the comm speaker in the repair bay, and Starscream recognized it as Prowl after a moment of processing. _"There's also the fact that you haven't passed the information Starscream sent you to Ops as yet. Do that first, and maybe I'll look the other way if you __**happen**__ to slip out of the Ark later."_

The jet recalled the additional packet added by the Constructicons and quickly said to his bondmate, _::Pull the packet earmarked for Hauler and give it to him separately. The rest of it can go straight to whoever the frag's in charge of Ops these days.::_

A flicker of _surprise/delight_ came. "Get out of here," Cliffjumper said, his voice containing a faint hint of what the bond displayed clearly. "You figured out how to get the Structies' heads back on straight?"

_::I'm a genius, dear. Don't sound so shocked.::_

There was a momentary interruption of repairs as the seeker received a _very_ nice (and much-missed, given how long he'd been undercover) kiss as a reward from his bondmate, who then darted from the repair bay to deliver the information he had to its intended recipients. Starscream settled back into the repair cradle and just grinned unrepentantly up at the two medics; Ratchet snorted and shook his head while Hoist just smiled slightly back at him.

_::I have the best bondmate in the universe,::_ he cheerfully informed them both.

"You're both psychotic," the red and white medic grumbled in reply. "Now shush, you, and let us get you back into fighting shape."

_**tbc**_


	5. Disclosure

**Notes:** And thus, we come to the end of this little narrative. I hope you've enjoyed it, and remember to stay tuned for the bonus chapter! Which, with any luck, I'll have up later today or early tomorrow as well.

* * *

Ratchet still wasn't allowing either of his patients to go too far from the repair bay – he had personally gone after the minibot when he'd taken too long to return after delivering his reports and hauled him back to a berth – so Optimus, Prowl, Jazz, and Red Alert were forced to meet with their former deep cover team there. Red was surprisingly calm about the whole thing, and Optimus made a note to ask him afterward if he had already known who their inside mech was. It was fuel for thought, at any rate.

It didn't take much time at all for the bonded pair to explain how they'd volunteered for such a long-term assignment, one picking up the thread of narrative where the other left off. It was obvious to all present that in spite of the prolonged separation, the bondlink between Cliffjumper and Starscream was just as strong as it had ever been, and Prowl felt a brief flutter of jealousy at the realization. He'd never know for sure if the bond he'd had with Sentinel would have ever been as strong thanks to Megatron, and he was sorely tempted to follow through on his comment about _looking the other way_ if Cliffjumper got it in his cortex to really go to the Decepticon base and finish what he'd started only a day ago.

Jazz let out a thoughtful hum as the pair finished speaking. "So what happened this time that called ya out?" he asked, frowning faintly as he processed the new information given and compared it with what Prime had known from his Matrix memories. Everything lined up, but obviously the couple had taken a _lot_ of care in making sure their cover was intact at all times. Slag, Cliffjumper had even accused near-about everymech and his carrier of being a Decepticon spy in order to make sure that Starscream wouldn't be found out.

The minibot and jet exchanged a look, Cliffjumper nodding slightly to his bondmate after a moment.

"Megatron was acting like a glitch the past lunar cycle or so," Starscream said, mouth twitching into a faint grin at his bonded's exasperated exvent at his wording. "The best I can figure is, he suspected that one of his officers was passing along classified information and added a tag to the short-term plans I got hold of. He wasn't interested in who the information was being passed to, just who was doing to the deed. I missed the tag because it deciphered itself after I encoded the files, so I missed it until I had a chance to reflect on what the frag happened out there."

"You're a poet, nova," Cliffjumper drawled with a helmtilt that was equivalent to the human gesture of rolling one's eyes, sending a surge of _exasperation/adoration_ across the bond as he did so.

"Thank you, sweetspark, I do try."

"Mirage has been sent to assess the current situation so far as the enemy is concerned," Prowl cut in, vaguely amused by the banter; honestly, these two reminded him so much of what he'd lost, but he couldn't fully begrudge them for it. "Although I'm concerned about how long it may take him to find his way aboard the _Victory_. Unless I miss my guess, someone had been leaving the metaphorical door unlocked for him all this time."

Starscream grinned. "Oh, it's still unlocked. Someone else is just holding the key now."

"Hold up," Red Alert said. "You mean to tell us that there are turncoats amongst the Decepticons on Earth and we're just now finding out about it?"

"We know that the Constructicons are ours again, if Hauler's euphoria is any indication," Prowl noted; he'd passed the crane earlier while heading to get some energon for himself and the mech was practically walking on air. Of course, learning that his bondmates still loved him and wanted to come home at the first opportunity they got would be enough to send anymech over the moon.

Starscream and Cliffjumper exchanged another of those bemused looks before the seeker started speaking again: "Do you know why the Combaticons were originally decommissioned and imprisoned?"

Optimus shutterblinked. "I'd heard that they mutinied and had attempted to take command of the army."

"A pretty little lie to keep the grunts in line," Starscream explained. "In fact, the whole lot of them realized that the original goal of the Decepticons – to get rid of a corrupt government that oppressed military builds – had been accomplished with no sign of Megatron stopping. Vortex and Onslaught decided that the Autobot army was the best bet to establish a new ruling government without the bad of the previous regime, and the other three followed their lead."

"Whoa, wait a click," Jazz interrupted. "You mean to tell me that the Combaticons were this close to defecting?"

"Well, why _else_ would I break them out if it wouldn't benefit the Autobots in the long run?"

* * *

**End Note:** And that's all she wrote, folks. Except for the bonus chapter, which I'm sort of working on now. Any takers on what that chapter will contain?


	6. Bonus: Reunion

**Warnings:** a mix of pnp, tactile, spark, and EM field mech smut.  
**Notes:** This is it, the bonus chapter y'all have been awaiting. There's an epilogue coming hot on the heels of this.

* * *

It had been another three days before Ratchet was willing to release Starscream from the repair bay, and even then he ordered the seeker to keep from over-exerting himself for at least another day. He didn't excuse the mech from Ops meetings, though, which Cliffjumper was now expected to attend as well; Jazz's reasoning was that they'd been a deep cover team for longer than there'd been an Autobot army, "So your afts can be parked in a couple of chairs just like the rest of my team, no back talkin' allowed."

However, now that the most recent meeting had concluded and Ratchet's demands had been met, Cliffjumper and Starscream were free to slip off to their new quarters. The other minibots had been a bit cruel to start with, saying that the red mech wasn't one of _them_ if he was bonded to a war-build, but Bumblebee and Beachcomber hadn't really agreed with that mindset and managed to each call in a few favors in order to move their friend and his bonded into a larger living space. After all, it would be unfair to expect an airframe to be comfortable in quarters meant for two or three minis.

It took a bit longer than it normally would have to reach their rooms, given that every time the pair glanced at each other they started laughing again. This earned them some odd looks in the corridors, but they weren't exactly the only ones getting said looks. The meeting had ended on a fairly odd note that had sent everymech into hysterics, and even as Starscream managed to get his laughter under control enough to code open the door he could hear Bumblebee and Mirage start up again in the next hall over. This set off Cliffjumper once more, and the seeker only managed to keep control long enough for the door to close behind them before he cracked up.

The jet collapsed on the berth, still snickering. "I can't believe that Swindle actually straight-up asked Mirage when we were going to get to work formatting him a sibling because he's tired of being the youngest," he managed to get out between giggles.

"What I can't believe is that Mirage managed to deliver the message with a straight face," Cliffjumper replied, biting back another fit of laughter. "He would have been okay if Bee and Hound hadn't cracked up instantly, huh?"

"Some days I have to wonder just how scrambled those mechs' processors got while they were in lockup," Starscream mused, referring to the Combaticons. Whereas Vortex and Onslaught seemed to be perfectly normal – relatively speaking – Blast Off had his moments of childish petulance while Brawl and Swindle had nearly regressed to a youngling/proto-adult mentality. The latter three had fairly adopted Starscream as a surrogate caregiver as a result, a fact which provided no end of amusement to the elder two Combaticons.

The minibot pushed himself off the wall he'd been leaning against and joined his bondmate on the berth, straddling the jet and leaning his weight on his hands. "Wonder about that later," he said, leaning down and pressing a light kiss to his seeker's mouth. "Right now I'm a bit more interested in... getting reacquainted."

"I like that idea," Starscream replied, one hand moving to settle lightly on his bonded's hip and toying lightly with the paneling there. "It's been, what? A few million years?"

"And then some," Cliffjumper growled as he turned to nip at the other's neck cables. "Do you really wanna have a discussion on it right now?" He punctuated the question by allowing him EM field to push against his bonded's, smirking to himself at the faint shudder that wracked the jet's frame.

"Talk later," the seeker agreed, vocalizer crackling with static as he synched his own EM field with Cliffjumper's. The faint sting of electricity that accompanied the synch was both familiar and new since they hadn't had even a breem to attempt an interface since they'd reformatted on Earth, and Starscream wasted very little time in popping open the panel he'd been playing with to expose one set of his bonded's interface connectors.

Cliffjumper responded with another sharp nip to his seeker's neck cables, one hand moving to open a side panel covering one of Starscream's corresponding input receptors. It was a little-known programming quirk that, while most other Cybertronians had both input receptor ports and output cables, war-build flyers like seekers only had one or the other. His bondmate happened to have input-only connectors, but that didn't mean the minibot viewed himself as somehow more dominant in the berth because of it. If anything, it served to remind him without any question that they were equals, and there was no way that he'd take advantage of the jet.

Although his Star _did_ make the most fun little sounds when he plugged in, like now.

"Tease," Starscream accused with a slight whine, glaring playfully at Cliffjumper as the minibot only tapped at the panel covering another receptor on his right side. "Is this going to take all night cycle, or are you going to do some_thing!_" he ended with a slight shriek as his bondmate decided to send a surge of electricity through the connection as well as across their merged EM fields.

Cliffjumper laughed, the sound tapering off into a light moan as the seeker retaliated by prying open his second interface array on the opposite hip and stroked the still-coiled cable. While teasing his bonded _was_ fun, sometimes it was _more_ fun to skip all that and get to the main event. He ducked in to give the jet a smoldering kiss while Starscream took the opportunity to plug the second cable into his own port, growling at the snap of feedback. There was no doubt that they were both charged up by this point, and he sent another electric charge through their connectors.

Starscream fairly purred and returned the charge, cycling it a bit higher and tracing his fingers lightly across his bondmate's plating. The action sent static sparking across their EM fields, dragging a mixture of a growl and a groan from Cliffjumper. In spite of how long it had been since they'd been able to connect, neither felt the need to rush. The bonded pair sent sporadic charges back and forth over their interface connections, compounding the intimacy with touches and caresses with their EM fields and lingering kisses.

Eventually, however, the need to be fully joined overcame them, and almost as one they remote-opened their spark chambers. Since they were already so entangled from the previous intimacy, there was only the briefest astrosecond before two sparks merged into almost one, dragging cries of bliss from both. The triple connection was finally enough to push Starscream into overload, and he cycled all the energy from his release back through his EM field to drag Cliffjumper along with him.

The couple collapsed into a comfortable tangle of limbs and cables, drawing their individual EM fields back to just skim over their plating but not yet closing their spark chambers. Cliffjumper tilted his head slightly to watch the brilliant blue of his own spark's light mingle with his bonded's unique golden hue, smiling at the content exvent that slipped from Starscream. He carefully disconnected his interface cables and tucked them away before slipping one arm around the jet's waist.

"Star?" he murmured, continuing only when his bondmate made an inquisitive sound. "In the end, do you think all the secrets we've kept and the lies we've had to tell meant anything?"

The seeker didn't answer for a moment. "When all is said and done," he finally replied, curling an arm around his smaller bonded and nestling closer, "they kept us and so many others online."

Satisfied with the answer and pleased to have his adored bondmate at his side once more, Cliffjumper nodded and cycled towards recharge. His last conscious observation was that Starscream still drifted into recharge faster when they were together.

* * *

**End Note:** Stay tuned for the epilogue. It'll tell you what, exactly, happened to buckethead.


	7. Epilogue

**Warnings:** canon character death

* * *

**Epilogue**

_He could hear voices around him, but his motor functions refused to respond. He __**knew**__ that that accursed minibot got off a lucky shot on him, far closer to the laser core and his spark chamber than he was comfortable admitting, but he literally couldn't complain._

_He couldn't even access his vocalizer, let alone his optical sensors; he could only listen impotently as the Constructicons told Soundwave yet again that they couldn't rush such delicate repairs._

_**They haven't even tried!**__ he wanted to shout to his now-second in command, yet somehow the telepath couldn't read his surface thoughts. __**They aren't even attempting to repair me!**_

_"How much longer do you think that'll satisfy him?" Long Haul asked, sounding annoyed at the interruption; Megatron wanted more than anything to be able to get up from the repair cradle and strangle the life out of the mech._

_"Not long," Scrapper replied, the scowl clear in his voice. "Maybe a day, if we're lucky."_

_"Do you think Mirage made it – made it back yet?" Mixmaster asked. Megatron wanted to snarl at the Autobot's designation, furious that these traitors had even spoken to the spy for an instant – had spoken to him in this very room without regard to whether he could hear them or not!_

_"Probably," said Hook, chuckling slightly. "What I wouldn't give to be a flybot on the wall when he delivers Swindle's message."_

_The other Constructicons laughed as well, and Megatron mentally gnashed his dental plating. Oh, but he wanted to dismantle them plate by plate for their betrayal. It was obvious now that he'd had nothing to do for the past few cycles but listen to the slaggers that Starscream – the pit-spawned traitor – had countered the effects of the Robo-Smasher some time ago, yet the mechs had continued to play at loyalty._

_He wondered how many long-range plans had gone along with the little glitch and were now in Autobot hands, given that Starscream had once again managed to survive his attempts to offline him._

_"If you don't wanna do it, Hook, I'll gladly take the decision outta your hands," Bonecrusher snarled._

_Megatron frowned to himself. That sounded ominous, but there was nothing he could do but listen._

_"By all means, then, my dear Crusher," Hook replied, and it sounded like the mech was smiling._

_Megatron only had a moment to worry that the traitors were going to pull some stunt before his world exploded into brief pain before fading out slowly._

_The very last thing he ever heard was Scavenger's voice asking, "Does this mean we can go home to Roadie now?"_

**The End

* * *

Final Notes:** Yep, Bonecrusher just literally crushed Megatron... or his laser core, at the very least.

As for Scavenger's comment: according to the TF wiki, Hauler's full designation is RoadHauler. Apparently, Scavenger has his own nickname for the mech. I think it's stupid-cute.

Once again, I hope you enjoyed the ride. Thank you for reading!


End file.
